Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-05-24

u" rest ran away. Nwaying on thei
thin legs, and Iirrhc. climbing M on hi
'fuiChcs, again began Ia hobbie after hi
game with motions precisely like those o.
the chickens
But lust rs lie came up to where IN,
. little black body lay. with its head al
blood stained, lac received "A terrible shoy,
IN the back which obliged him to let Y,
his cIut"hr~. and which sent him rolling
on his face ten yards away. And Matr.
'hiquef, thoroughly eNasperated, rushed
on the maraudrr. beat him nIriouSly
striking like n madman-as robbed
! peasant always strikr>-thumpng with
fist and Knees all the body of the cripple
/ who was utterly p"werirss 10 defend him.
self
The field hands ran mp and took turn
IN helping the master To- beat the beggar
! Then, When they had all beaten and
kicked him unit! ,hey were tired, they
lifted him up and carried him To- the wood
house, and locked him up there. aud sent
for the police
tlushe, bleeding and half dead with
hunger, remained upon the ground Even
ing came. then night, then morning. All
tins time he had not had anything to eat.
About noon the police came and opened
the dnor 0f the wood house with all Dos
slble preCauiton for they expected resist
ance. as Maitre Ihiquet had told them the
heggar had made II violent attack upon
HIM, and that he had only been able to
defend himself with extreme difficulty.
One Of the grndarmes cried:
Here, y"u'-let up out of that"
But 'loCtr could not move himself He
tried 10 hoist his body once. more ON his
stills and failed They thought il was all
feint, II trick. one of the regular dodges
practiced lay thieves. and the two armed
men, seizing him Violently. lifted him
npon his Crutches lay main force.
His old fear had come upon him-the
hereditary fear of the policeman's yellow
sword helt-like the fear uf the game in
the presence OF the hunter, the natural
fear Of the mouse before the cat And by
superhuman effort he managed To re.
main erect.
March shouted the officer And he
huhbled along. All the farm people assem-
bled To watch him going The women
shook their fist AT him; the men ieered and
swore AT him. He was caught at last
anyhow. Good radiance,
And he passed away, between his two
captors. He found desperate energy enough
TO keep ON dragging himself along until
evening, being too stupefied even TO know
what had happened 10 him, too terrified
10 understand anything
People passing on the road stopped to
look at him go by; and the peasants NUT
tered:
Must be some rObber"
Toward night they arrived AT the chef
lieu of the canton. He had never been
that far before. He really had no idea
what had happened, nor what was going
To happen. All these terrible and unex-
pected things. new houses strange faces.
absolutely Terrified him ont of his wits.
lie never uttered Il single word, having
nothing, indeed, ia say. for he had ceased
10 he able 1" understand anything Be
sides, during all the years that he had
never talked with any one. he had grad |
ually lost the Use of his tnngne through
want "i iahit: and whatever thoughts he |
had left would have been of too confused
a sort 10 he expressed in words
lie was locked up in the village iail It
never occurred Ia the policemen that he .
might need something to eat; and they left /
him there ustil next day
But they r1und him lying dead on the /
Moor when they went TO question him .
early in the morning. How surprised they
were!-Guy de Maupassant-Transla |
for Times Democrat